Dominik Raab

De Oostenrijker Dominik Raab is een ware kunstenaar op de fiets. Je ziet hem vaker op één wiel in plaats van op twee wielen. Dominik Raab behoort tot de wereldtop op het gebied van Trial. Met zijn Street Trial Shows weet hij het publiek keer op keer te verbazen. Daarnaast houdt hij zich graag bezig met aansprekende foto- en film projecten.

Een van zijn laatste trips was naar Lissabon, de hoofdstad van Portugal. Hier heeft hij samen met fotograaf Christoph Breiner de pittoreske hoekjes van de stad opgezocht om zijn kunsten te vertonen en foto's te schieten voor diverse magazine's. 
Lees hieronder een kort interview met Dominik Raab.

Dominik, what made you look at Lisbon as a location for your latest Street-Trial trip?

Dominik: I am always looking for cities with some exciting locations for photo shoots. The architecture is extremely important for my search – on one hand, buildings with extraordinary architecture make some fantastic backgrounds and on the other hand, very often parts of these building offer some great obstacles for my tricks. In certain cities, you wonder if some of the architects like 'a bit of' street-trials – that’s how perfect those locations are for riding your trials bike. After I had visited cities like Vienna, Berlin, Prague, Amsterdam or San Francisco in the last few years, it was now time to pay Lisbon a visit. 

The coastal city of Lisbon is renown as super relaxed. How did you experience the vibe of the place?

Dominik: I really enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere of the city. On top of that, the weather was perfect – sunshine every day and temperatures around 18°, perfect conditions for our photo shoot. Besides the atmosphere in Lisbon, I loved the incredible views you have from certain locations of the city. Lisbon is rather hilly which makes riding a trials bike around the place a little bit of a challenge; however, the hills offer some great viewpoints as well as some spectacular settings for some riding shots.  

How did the locals respond to your tricks? Have you made any exciting encounters?

Dominik: The locals were super friendly and welcoming, and I even had some first class photo shoot location advice from a local trials rider. Normally I try to find more quiet spots were you focus 100% on the tricks and the photo shoot. That’s is also the reason why we normally work really early. Luckily places which are swamped with tourists in the later part of the day are often completely abandoned early in the morning. 

Are there any experiences from your Lisbon trip that will stick in your mind?

Dominik: It is not really a particular thing that will stick in my mind for a while – it is more the general and very positive impression that Lisbon made on me. The loving and historical architecture, the relaxed atmosphere and of course the plentiful choice of exciting riding locations. It was a fantastic trip.